My research is primarily focused on mosquito- and tick-microbe interactions, especially the mosquito/tick microbiome, mosquito immune defense, and novel pathogens of disease vector mosquitoes. I teach Vector Biology and Vector Borne Disease (ENTMLGY 5605) and Insect Pathology (ENTMLGY 5121). My extension program is primarily focused on ticks, tick-borne disease, and tick bite prevention. Visit us at https://shortlab.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/.
Sarah is originally from Willoughby, Ohio. She attended Xavier Unversity in Cincinnati as an undergraduate where she received a B.S. in Biology. She then went on to earn her Ph.D. in Genetics and Development at Cornell University in the laboratory of Dr. Brian Lazzaro, and continued her training as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Unversity with Dr. George Dimopoulos. Dr. Short joined the Department of Entomology at OSU in August, 2018.
Our lab is broadly interested in understanding the factors that influence variation in susceptibilty to pathogen infection and transmission of infectious disease. We study how insects interact with harmful and helpful microbes and the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping insect immune defense. As vector biologists, we are also interested in finding ways to use this information to improve our ability to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases. We primarly study Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector of dengue and Zika virus. We are currently focusing on two major research areas:
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Tick ID card: https://extensionpubs.osu.edu/tick-id-card-set-of-25/
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Villegas LEM, Radl J, Dimopoulos G, Short SM (2023) Bacterial communities of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes differ between crop and midgut tissues. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 17(3): e0011218. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011218
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Magistrado, D., El-Dougdoug, N.K. & Short, S.M. Sugar restriction and blood ingestion shape divergent immune defense trajectories in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Sci Rep 13, 12368 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39067-9
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Eric P Caragata and Sarah M Short. Vector microbiota and immunity: modulating arthropod susceptibility to vertebrate pathogens. Current Opinion in Insect Science, Volume 50, 2022, 100875, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2022.100875.
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Dada, N., Jupatanakul, N., Minard, G. Short, S.M., Akorli, J. , Martinez Villegas, L. 2021. Considerations for mosquito microbiome research from the Mosquito Microbiome Consortium. Microbiome 9, 36https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00987-7
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Grigsby, A.*#; Kelly, B*; Sanscrainte, ND; Becnel, JJ; and Short, SM. 2020. Propagation of the microsporidian parasite Edhazardia aedis in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (162), e61574, doi:10.3791/61574. *Co-first author, #Undergraduate mentee.
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Mancini, M.V.*; Damiani, C.*; Short, S.M.*; Cappelli, A.; Ulissi, U.; Capone, A.; Serrao, A.; Rossi, P.; Amici, A.; Kalogris, C.; Dimopoulos, G.; Ricci, I.; Favia, G. 2020. Inhibition of Asaia in Adult Mosquitoes Causes Male-Specific Mortality and Diverse Transcriptome Changes. Pathogens, 9, 380 *Co-first Author
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J. Carlson, S. M. Short, Y. Angleró-Rodríguez, and G. Dimopoulos. 2019. Larval exposure to bacteria modulates arbovirus infection and immune gene expression in adult Aedes aegypti. Dev Comp Immunol, 104, 103540. doi:10.1016/j.dci.2019.103540
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Megan E. Meuti and Sarah M. Short. 2019. Physiological and Environmental Factors Affecting the Composition of the Ejaculate in Mosquitoes and Other Insects. Insects 10:74. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10030074.
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S. M. Short, S. van Tol, B. Smith, Y. Dong, G. Dimopoulos. 2018. The mosquito adulticidal Chromobacterium sp. Panama causes transgenerational impacts on fitness parameters and elicits xenobiotic gene responses. Parasites and Vectors 11:229.
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S. M. Short, S. van Tol, H.J. MacLeod, G. Dimopoulos. 2018. Hydrogen cyanide produced by the soil bacterium Chromobacterium sp. Panama contributes to mortality in Anopheles gambiae mosquito larvae. Scientific Reports 8:1: 8358.
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S.M. Short, E.F. Mongodin, H.J. MacLeod, O.A.C. Talyuli, G. Dimopoulos. 2017. Amino acid metabolic signaling influences Aedes aegypti midgut microbiome variability. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 11(7): e0005677. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005677